European sales of greener cars jumped 39% in 2017

European sales of cars powered by alternative powertrains rose 39 per cent last year as Toyota pushed hybrid models and Renault extended the driving range on the latest version of its battery-powered Zoe.
Customers in European Union and EFTA markets bought 953,355 autos that run on systems including batteries, electric-gasoline or electric-diesel motors, fuel cells or natural gas in 2017, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, said Thursday in a statement.
Combined demand for plug-in hybrids, which can operate on either conventional fuel or self-charged battery power, and so-called mild hybrids, which use an electric motor to help the combustion engine run more efficiently, surged 52 per cent to 460,418. Sales of full-electric models jumped 49 per cent to 135,369.

The growth far outpaced the European car market’s 3.3 per cent gain last year, suggesting consumers are warming to the models added by Toyota, Renault and competitors. Still, the alternative systems powered only 6.1 per cent of the 15.6 million autos sold across the region last year, an increase from 4.5 per cent in 2016. Battery-powered cars had a 0.9 per cent market share in 2017.

EU regulators are requiring the auto industry to reduce CO2 emissions from vehicle exhausts to limit greenhouse gases. Customers have been reluctant to buy full-electric autos because of concerns about how long battery recharging takes and the short distances the cars can travel compared with gasoline or diesel models.

Renault improved the Zoe’s range on a full charge by 67 per cent to 400km (250 miles). Toyota has up to now focused on hybrid technology, and it said in January that sales of the models jumped 38 per cent in Europe last year to account for 41 per cent of its deliveries in the region.

Sales of full-electric cars in Europe are set to surge to 200,000 this year, LMC Automotive predicts, with demand for battery-powered vehicles forecast to reach 600,000 by 2020 and rise to nearly a million by 2022

Hyundai posts strong April 2018 global sales

Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest automaker and No.1 Selling Korean automaker in the world, has announced its global sales results for April 2018, posting a total of 391,197 units sold, up 11.1 per cent from a year earlier.

The highest growth since December 2014 was led by strong sales of new SUV models – the all-new Santa Fe and Kona – while a recent sales rebound in the Chinese market also largely contributed to the growth.

Sales in overseas markets totaled 327,409 units, representing an increase of 12.2 per cent year-over-year. Sales increased significantly as the company’s popular subcompact SUV Kona expanded to key markets and demand remained strong in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia and India.

Sales in the Korean market increased by 5.7 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year, recording 63,788 units sold. The all-new Santa Fe became the best-selling model in Korea for the second consecutive month, posting 11,837 units sold.

Volkswagen forecasts Nigeria automobile market rebound

Volkswagen AG expects a rebound in vehicle sales in Nigeria as the economy recovers, the head of the company’s South African operations said.

Sales in the West African nation dropped to less than 40 units last year, according to the company. Nigeria was one of several African oil exporters hit hard when crude prices crashed in 2014, but the economy is recovering as oil rebounds.

“Now that the oil price has been recovering hopefully this situation will reverse and we can assemble and see a few hundred cars in the next year or so,” Thomas Schaefer said in an interview at a conference in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

Volkswagen resumed building cars in Nigeria in 2015, it’s first factory on the continent outside South Africa. The company is set to start producing models including the Polo, Passat and Teramont at an assembly plant in Rwanda next month.

We are “expecting to start with at least 2,000 cars in 2018 alone, but I would love to get to 10,000 cars,” Schaefer said.

While VW is continuously assessing opportunities in countries like Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania for expansion, “with these new markets it is a bit of a long shot,” he said.